What Rick Warren Said We Need to Do to Get to Heaven

I'm putting this up as a discussion piece.
Tell us whether or not people will make it to heaven based upon what Rick Warren said on Sean Hannity's show on February 10, 2008. Video Below.

To help this discussion I've taken Rick Warren's solution to 'making it to heaven' and altered some passages about salvation to help see if this fits what the Bible teaches.

John 6:28-29 Then they said to Jesus, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “Give as much of yourself as you understand to as much as you understand about me and then keep growing in it.”
Acts 2:37-39 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Give as much of yourself as you understand to as much of Jesus Christ as you understand and then keep growing in it."
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever gives as much of themselves as they understand to as much of Jesus Christ as they understand and keep growing in it shall have eternal life.

So what do you think? Is Rick Warren's solution to making it to heaven consistent with what God's Word says?

Click here to view video................ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwyhF5MyiyE&eurl=http://www.extremetheology.com/

How Can We Love God If We Are To Fear Him? By Chad V.

What does the bible mean when it talks about the fear of the Lord? It has become common place for people to say that there is no reason to fear God at all. We are just supposed to love God and revere him. When this sort of attitude is taken people begin to look at God, not as the holy, all powerful, sovereign Lord of all creation, but more like a really big version of themselves, who is more likely to be permissive and accepting of anything one does rather than demand holiness of life and obedience to His laws. They often start to revere a God that is basically a really big version of themselves. Their likes become God's likes. Whatever they are pleased to do God is pleased with. They create in their minds a God that need not be feared.
God however says; "And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good" (Duet 10:13-14). You may think to yourself, "how can I love God when I fear him?" I must tell you, you cannot love God rightly unless you do indeed fear him. The two things are not antithetical to each other. Fear of God engenders love to God.
God is pure and holy. "For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man" (Psalm5:4-6). He is terrible in his power and glory. "God is clothed with awesome (terrible) majesty" (Job 37:22). There is much about the Lord to fear. When we see our own sinfulness in the light of God's holiness should this not cause us to fear God? If our hearts are right before God it must.
But you may still be saying; "how can I love a God who is so terrible? How does this knowledge of God engender love toward God?" It is this knowledge of God that is the very spring from which love towards God flows. God is merciful and slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love. "Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!" (Psalm 25:7). In God's mercy and love he sent his only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to suffer the wrath of God and to be a propitiation for the sins of those who believe in Him. In this knowledge we who have been forgiven of our sins are bound to love God and to fear him.
....
We marvel at God's mercy in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly (Rom 5:6). Yet we are still very much aware of remaining sin in us and we fear God because we know how much he hates sin. But our fear of God is not like the fear of the ungodly. They have no hope. Their fear is a terror. There is nothing for the ungodly but indignation, wrath and judgment unless they will repent.
By contrast godly fear is free from the fear of condemnation for there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1). And that is the sense in which the Apostle John speaks of fear being cast out. "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love" (1 John 4:18). That is the sort of fear that Christians do not have. We who have been forgiven of our sins do not have the terror of impending judgment. That is gone. What is left is a godly and righteous fear. Christians love and fear God because he is so holy and terrible, and yet so merciful. Love to God drives true Christians to strive to please him in all they do by keeping his commands and being careful not to displease him. Knowing the fear of the Lord we know the terrors that he will inflict upon the wicked for their sins and yet, for the Christian such terror has been removed and replaced by forgiveness and peace. Our greatest fear is that we will sully the name of Christ by our disobedience. So it is by the fear of God that we depart from evil.
Even if the rest of the world does not fear God, his church must. "Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints" (Psalm 34:9). There is no such thing as a Christian who does not fear God. It is God who causes his church to fear him for God has said "I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me" (Jer. 32:40).

Terms in Theology…..

Epistemology- the philosophical theory of knowledge. It involves views of how knowledge is obtained, what knowledge is and what qualifies or does not qualify as genuine knowledge or truth.

Jonathan Edwards’s Education By Jesse Johnson

Considered by many to be the most brilliant American ever, Jonathan Edwards is the consummate theologian. He was a pastor, and a missionary; he was an author and a preacher; he was university president and a renowned evangelist. To read anything by Edwards is to be challenged and convicted at the superficial way our generation treats theology.
While obviously Edwards was gifted by God, his education as a boy certainly trained him to maximize his gifts. He was the only son in a family with 10 daughters, four of whom were older than him. His father, Timothy, graduated from Harvard and then became a school master—a bit of a teacher and principal in one person—in Connecticut. After marrying the daughter of an influential pastor, Timothy himself became a pastor in East Windsor, where Jonathan was born.
Jonathan’s mother, Esther, did much more than give birth to Jonathan and 10 daughters, she also assisted with their education. However (and this puts a little wrinkle in the home school debate) she was not a professing Christian at the time, although she was a student of theology. As a side note, Esther would eventually say that she was converted under her husband’s preaching when Jonathan was 12.
Jonathan’s father was his main teacher. Because of his education, he excelled in teaching Greek and Latin, and taught Jonathan at an early age. However, churches then often paid their pastors too little, and Timothy spent much of his time returning to his earlier profession by tutoring the students from the community. Jonathan most likely received much of his instruction from his father, in the company of other children.
When Jonathan was eight, his father was forced to serve as a military chaplain for battles against the French. This left Jonathan to be instructed by church members in his father’s absence.
At age 13, Jonathan left for college. While considered young (some students began as old as 16), it was not exceptionally so. It has often been said that Jonathan went to Yale, but there is more to it than that. In the early 1700’s, Harvard had begun to slide away from evangelical Christianity. They had recently fired their president, Increase Mather, a famous puritanical minister. To understand the significance of this, imagine if The Master’s College fired MacArthur for being to concerned with religion. Many Christians responded to this by starting a new college, which according to Marsden was “opened on a shoe-string.”
This new college was called The Collegiate School of Connecticut, which is another way of saying it did not even have a name. It also did not have a campus, or a location. Many of the families who formed it were vying for one location or another, and so they sent their children to that location for study. Edwards then actually began his studies in Wethersfield, about 10 miles South of East Windsor, and 40 miles north of the New Haven campus.
When you picture this, don’t picture modern day Yale, or really any modern concept of college. Instead, picture 10 students, ages 13 through 17, living away from their families, in a house, under the supervision of a tutor. While in concept it might be closer to a modern boarding school for high school students, the entrance requirement was a mastery of Latin.
In Jonathan’s third year at the Collegiate School, the students from Wethersfield tried to join the students in New Haven. However, the New Haven campus was much more naturalistic (reading Descartes, Locke, Newton) and Anglican while the Wethersfield campus was more traditional (reading Latin and Greek, studying geography) and Calvinistic. Jonathan and his classmates revolted and returned to the make-shift campus in Wethersfield. However, Jonathan would return to the New Haven campus one year later, largely because they built a new dorm which he thought would help his learning. It was around this time that the school became known as Yale, named after the benefactor who built the new dorm.
There are some lessons that can be drawn from Jonathan’s early education. First, he was trained exceptionally well by parents who were exceptionally busy. His father was pastoring, tutoring others, and still taught him Latin and Greek. Second, his parents were in diverse places as to their religion, and yet from them Jonathan learned morality, and the refusal to compromise. And third, his parents had such confidence in him, that they had no qualms (that they recorded) in sending him away to school, six weeks before his thirteenth birthday.

The Prophets and the West by Gene Edward Veith

Reading the prophets can be an unsettling experience. Here we see God’s utter, absolute fury against sin. The graphic accounts of what God is going to do to His own faithless, immoral, complacent people constitute some of the scariest words in all of literature, making our horror movies seem like My Little Pony. And then, amidst the righteous rage, the bodies heaped up and the cities ravaged, the carnage is suddenly interrupted with sheer tender grace and spot-on predictions of what Jesus will do to make Himself the object all of this wrath. Jesus takes all of this fury onto Himself, whereas we, who deserve everything the prophets call down on sinners, receive His righteousness. In addition to the theological and devotional impact of the prophets, these books of the Bible played a major role in Western civilization. For Israel’s neighbors, the king was, literally, a god. In Egypt, the pharoah was thought to have descended from the sun god. For the Babylonians and Persians, the king was considered to be a deity. This was true of the Canaanites and of paganism in general, from Rome’s divinized emperors to the chieftains of tribal societies.For the pagans, the customs of the culture — whether the techniques of planting grain or the necessity of sacrificing one’s children — are inextricably tied up with their religious beliefs. Nature, culture, government are all divine.Pagan cultures resist change. New Guinea tribesmen, we say, are still in the stone age. Why don’t they change? Why wouldn’t knowledge accumulate from generation to generation? The answer has to do with their deepest religious convictions: The status quo is sacred. The cycles of life are to be repeated, like the cycles of nature, over and over again.When the pharoah of Egypt commanded that babies be slaughtered (Ex. 1), his people had no conceptual framework for questioning that order. When the king of Persia commanded his people to pray to no god but him — as Darius did (Dan. 6:7) — his people were unable to conceive of an objection. How can one question a god? The Hebrews, though, did question and defy those kings. They knew that there is only one God, who transcends nature and culture. His moral law applies even to kings. By that moral law, cultures can be judged. Cultures are not sacred. Therefore they can be changed. And when they contain evils, they must be changed.The Hebrew midwives knew not to kill babies, no matter what the pharaoh said. The prophet Moses stormed into the sacred presence and demanded, in the name of the true God, that he release his slaves. The prophet Daniel refused to pray to the self-deified Darius, even though that meant the lion’s den.The problem is that all cultures want to make themselves sacred. We would really like to have a government to be our deity. Our natural, fallen inclinations pull us in the direction of paganism.This certainly happened with the Hebrews. They wanted kings like the other nations had, so despite the prophet Samuel’s warnings, they got what they wanted (1 Sam. 8). A good number of those kings set themselves up as deities, changing the God-ordained worship and installing idols in the Temple itself. Hebrews emulated their pagan neighbors in other ways, to the point of sacrificing their own children.Enter the prophets. As channels of the word of God, they excoriated their own kings. Nor were priests, merchants, or pillars of the community shielded from prophetic denunciation. You exploit the poor. You shed innocent blood. You use false measures. You are hypocrites. God will wipe you off the face of the earth like cleaning a dirty plate. God will even use those pagan divinized kings — since He is sovereign even over them — to destroy the Holy City of Jerusalem and His own Temple that you have polluted. The prophets made divinized rulers and sacred cultures impossible. The early church, which also refused to worship the allegedly divine emperor, brought the Bible into the larger civilization. The words and the example of the prophets opened up a conceptual basis for a higher law above that of the government, to which the government must be held accountable.It became possible to criticize one’s rulers. It became obligatory to criticize one’s culture. Not only to criticize it, but to change it.Western civilization, unlike that of the New Guinea tribesmen, is one of change after change. We are never satisfied with the status quo. We are never satisfied with our rulers, at least for long, because we scrutinize them for their faults. We hold them to a higher law beyond the laws they pass. This habit of mind we owe, in large part, to the prophets. As scholars such as Herbert Schneidau and M. Stanton Evans have shown, this biblical legacy opened up a conceptual space that made political freedom possible.True, today’s cynics have the habit of criticism while rejecting the transcendent morality that makes criticism logically possible. They smash everything, like vandals. The prophets, in contrast, smashed idols and hammered the human heart until it broke with repentance. Then their words from God proclaimed the good news (Ezek. 36:25–27).

Augustine

“Grant what thou commandest and then
command what thou wilt.”
Augustine of Hippo

The Reluctant Prophet by Pastor Steve Kreloff

Anyone who ha s ever attended a Sunday school class knows that Jonah was the man who was eaten alive by a fish and then vomited out three days later. But that’s about the extent of most people’s understanding of this Old Testament prophet and the book that bears his name. And that’s too bad, because Jonah is a Bible character worth knowing, and the book he wrote is not only rich in theological content, but is extremely relevant.Jonah was a Hebrew prophet who lived about 750 B.C. However, unlike other Hebrew prophets, Jonah was called to minister to Gentiles outside the boundaries of Israel. God sent him to preach a message of repentance to the citizens of Nineveh — a people belonging to the Assyrian Empire and noted for their extreme wickedness. But instead of obeying God, he rebelled by getting on a ship headed in the opposite direction from Nineveh. And the reason for Jonah’s blatant disobedience is revealed in the last chapter of the book. He angrily admits that he knew God was gracious and merciful, and therefore was afraid that the Ninevites would repent in response to his preaching and escape divine judgment (4:1–2). In other words, Jonah was so desirous for God to pour out His wrath upon these evil Gentiles that he was actually angry at Him for wanting to bestow mercy upon them! Even though Jonah and his activities are repeatedly mentioned throughout these four chapters, he’s not the main focus of the book. The principal person in the book is God, because the primary theme and message of the book is about God’s mercy and compassion upon sinners. The book of Jonah is a divine rebuke to Old Testament Israel, who, like this prophet, lacked concern for the spiritual welfare of the Gentiles of the world. While the Jewish people of Jonah’s day enjoyed being the recipients of God’s love and compassion, they resisted the idea that God would be merciful to pagan Gentiles — especially people like the Ninevites who were enemies of Israel. Instead of loving the lost Gentiles of the world, they despised them and longed for God to pour out wrath upon them. Therefore, the chief purpose of the book of Jonah is to communicate the truth that since God has a heart of compassion for the heathen, His people should reflect that same attitude by reaching out with the message of salvation to all who are alienated from God — especially those who are blatantly evil in their behavior. If Jonah is the author of this book — and we certainly believe that on account of the detailed accounts of some very unusual events in his life — then these four chapters are a very honest confession of a true believer admitting his own prejudices and lack of compassion for the heathen. But more than simply an admission of his sin, Jonah’s aim in writing this book is to pass along to his readers the lessons he has learned about God’s mercy, and there are several of them. In each chapter of the book, God shows Jonah a unique expression of His mercy by demonstrating His kindness upon the undeserving.In chapter one, the Lord’s compassion is seen by His work of converting the pagan sailors who were aboard the same ship that carried Jonah away from Nineveh. In chapter two, God’s compassion is demonstrated by appointing a fish to swallow and protect His rebellious prophet from drowning in the sea. In chapter three, God shows His compassion upon the wicked Ninevites by bringing them to salvation and therefore averting His wrath and judgment. In chapter four, God demonstrates His kindness upon Jonah by mercifully appointing a plant to shade him from the heat of the sun. Jonah isn’t the only believer who has ever preferred God’s judgment for sinners over His mercy. It is not uncommon for those who have experienced God’s grace in salvation to begrudge this same bestowal of grace upon others — especially those who have been cruel and vicious. If you think that this couldn’t possibly be true of you, then you need to consider your attitude towards a notorious sinner, such as the global terrorist Osama Bin Laden. Have you ever prayed for the salvation of this Islamic man’s lost soul, or do you long for him to spend eternity in hell? Or perhaps a little closer to home, has someone ever maliciously hurt you or a loved one, but instead of forgiving them (Eph. 4:32), the longing of your heart was for God to “crush” them for their sin? If we won’t extend the mercy of personal forgiveness to those who sin against us, then we certainly don’t want God to extend His mercy of forgiveness to them either. Like Jonah, the bent of our sinful hearts is to prefer God’s judgment to His grace. However, God’s heart is not like that. As He tells us in Ezekiel 18, He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (v. 23). Instead of desiring their death and judgment, He rejoices over sinners who repent (Luke 15). So eager is God to bestow His salvation upon the lost that He is pictured in the parable of the prodigal son as running, embracing, and kissing the repentant sinner (v. 20). May God help all of us to cultivate this same heart of mercy for lost sinners.

Telling the Truth by Burk Parsons

Nearly forty years ago, in his book The Church at the End of the 20th Century, Francis A. Schaeffer penned the following: “Does the church have a future in our generation? ...I believe the church is in real danger. It is in for a rough day. We are facing present pressures and a present and future manipulation which will be so overwhelming in the days to come that they will make the battles of the last forty years look like child’s play.” During the past forty years, the church has seen many rough days, and I would venture to say that the signs of the times certainly seem to indicate that we are in for many more rough days during the next forty years.Schaeffer was not a prophet, nor am I a prophet or the son of a prophet, and as Charles Haddon Spurgeon once said, “There are two great certainties about things that shall come to pass — one is that God knows, and the other is that we do not know.” It is true that we do not know all the truth about the future, but we do know the truth. It is the truth that abides within us, the truth that sanctifies us, the truth that makes us free, the truth that ensures our future. And although we don’t know the future, we know the One who sovereignly holds the future.The Old Testament prophets were men who were called to stand between God and man. Even when nobody wanted to hear their God-ordained, Spirit-empowered message, they preached the truth. They were God’s ambassadors on earth who were commissioned by God to foretell the future and forthtell the hard truth of God’s eternal truth to His people. As such, they were men whom God made completely dependent upon Himself, so that in the midst of rough days they might live coram Deo, before His face, abiding in His truth and proclaiming His truth to the appointed generations of God’s people. And just as the young prophet Daniel resolved in his heart that he would not defile himself with the delicacies of the governing king of Babylon, so we must resolve in our hearts to proclaim the whole counsel of God’s truth, in season and out of season, being confident that no matter what comes our way in this world, Jesus Christ, the true prophet, has gained the victory, and we are more than conquerors in Him.

The Heidelberg Catechism, This Lord's Day week 6

Q16: Why must He be a true and righteous man?

A16: Because the justice of God requires [1] that the same human nature which has sinned should make satisfaction for sin; but one who is himself a sinner cannot satisfy for others.[2]
1. Rom. 5:152. Isa. 53:3-5
Q17: Why must He also be true God?

A17: That by the power of His Godhead He might bear in His manhood the burden of God's wrath,[1] and so obtain for [2] and restore to us righteousness and life.[3]
1. Isa. 53:8; Acts 2:242. John 3:16; Acts 20:283. I John 1:2

Q18: But who now is that Mediator, who in one person is true God and also a true and righteous man?

A18: Our Lord Jesus Christ,[1] who is freely given unto us for complete redemption and righteousness.[2]
1. Matt. 1:23; I Tim. 3:16; Luke 2:112. I Cor. 1:30; Acts 4:12

Q19: From where do you know this?

A19: From the Holy Gospel, which God Himself first revealed in Paradise,[1] afterwards proclaimed by the holy Patriarchs [2] and Prophets, and foreshadowed by the sacrifices and other ceremonies of the law,[3] and finally fulfilled by His well-beloved Son.[4]
1. Gen. 3:152. Gen. 22:18; 49:10-11; Rom. 1:2; Heb. 1:1; Acts 3:22-24; 10:433. John 5:46; Heb. 10:74. Rom. 10:4; Gal. 4:4-5; Heb. 10:1

Rick Warren Calls for Reconciliation Between Mainline (Liberal) Churches and Evangelicals

The Christian Post has an interesting article about what Rick Warren said at his recent appearance at the National Cathedral.

Megachurch pastor Rick Warren suggested Sunday that mainline churches need to reconcile with evangelicals to counter its mounting problem of membership decline.
“(Warren said) The reconciliation is that in a pluralistic world…we (Christians) need to be on the same team because we share the same savior,” [Emphasis Mine]
The story continued...
“100 years ago the phrase ‘social gospel’ first came out,” Warren responded. “Some people took that to mean only if we reform the social government and society and not personal faith in Christ Jesus – that is, if we make the world a better place – we don’t need personal redemption.”
That idea led to mainline churches going “one way” and evangelical churches another way, he said.In general, mainline churches focused on social morality such as fighting poverty, racism and economic justice. Meanwhile, evangelical churches concentrated on personal morality such as personal salvation, fighting pornography, and upholding family values.
“Who’s right? The fact is both are right,” Warren emphasized. “Somehow we got divided like Jesus didn’t care about society or members of society didn’t need Jesus. I think we need both.”
Okay...yesterday I posted a video of Emergent Uber Guru Brian McLaren asking questions about whether Christianity is too closely tied to the west. I asked ya’ll to put away your opinions of McLaren and rather than react to McLaren to instead interact with the questions he brought up.
As soon as I posted the video I received a couple of emails asking me if I was alright. The discussion on the video was so underwhelming that I hear crickets chirping every time I open that post. Fact is I was conducting an experiment to see how well we can warm up to and work with and interact with a man who says he’s a Christian yet at every turn has been questioning and undermining fundamental Christian doctrines including the doctrine of Christ’s Substitutionary Atonement.
Truth is, I found it VERY hard to even post the video, yet alone bring myself to ask my readers to ‘put away their opinions of McLaren’ regardless of how good some of his questions may have been. (they weren’t that great).
So back to Rick Warren.
Warren is actually calling for me to reconcile with people like McLaren and Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori (liberals) because 'Christians of all stripes' need to be on the same team because WE SHARE THE SAME SAVIOR.

RICK WARREN IS OUT OF HIS MIND!
I will NOT be reconciled to people who call themselves Christians yet deny that the Bible is the inerrant word of God.
I will NOT be reconciled to people who call themselves Christians yet deny that Jesus Christ rose bodily from the grave.
I will NOT be reconciled to people who call themselves Christians who openly defy God’s word by ordaining homosexuals.
I will NOT be reconciled to people who call themselves Christians yet deny that salvation is found only in Jesus Christ.
I will NOT be reconciled to people who call themselves Christians yet deny that Jesus Christ died on the cross as my substitute for my sins.

I do not care how well meaning the liberal social causes may be. If there is ever to be reconciliation then they will have to repent of their rebellion against God and His Word, defrock their homosexual and female ministers, abandon all their 'scholarship' that claims the Bible is a human product, confess Jesus' bodily resurrection, confess that Jesus died for our sins as our substitute and confess that Jesus is the ONLY way of salvation. Then and only then will I believe that we share the same savior.
Pastor Warren thinks he's doing God's work by trying to reconcile the two wings of Christianity. BUT, Because his reconciliation is not based upon their repentance, he is not doing God's work. Instead he is doing the work of the prince of darkness.
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Further Reading: For a complete run down and refutation of Liberal Christianity I recommend that you download and read Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen

What Doctrines Are Essential? (Part 3) By John MacArthur

V. The Fundamental Doctrines Are All Summed up in the Person and Work of Christ
Paul wrote, “No man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11). Christ Himself embodied or established every doctrine that is essential to genuine Christianity. Those who reject any of the cardinal doctrines of the faith worship a “christ” who is not the Christ of Scripture.
How are the fundamentals of the faith personified in Christ?
With regard to the inspiration and authority of Scripture, He is the incarnate Word (John 1:1, 14). He upheld the written Word’s absolute authority (Matthew 5:18). Christ Himself established sola Scriptura as a fundamental doctrine when He upbraided the Pharisees for nullifying Scripture with their own traditions: “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’ Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.… You nicely set aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition” (Mark 7:6-9). Our Lord had much to say about the authority and infallibility of the Word of God.
In the doctrine of justification by faith, it is Christ’s own perfect righteousness, imputed to the believer, that makes the pivotal difference between true biblical justification and the corrupted doctrine of Roman Catholicism and the cults. That is what Paul meant when he wrote, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4). It is also why Paul wrote that Christ is become to us righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30), and it is why Jeremiah called Him “The Lord our righteousness” (Jeremiah 23:6). The Lord Himself, Jesus Christ, is our righteousness (Jeremiah 33:16). That is the very essence of justification by faith alone, sola fide.
Of course, all the fundamental doctrines related to the incarnation — the Virgin Birth of Christ, His deity, His humanity, and His sinlessness — are part and parcel of who He is. To deny any of those doctrines is to attack Christ Himself.
The essential doctrines related to His work — His atoning death, His resurrection, and the reality of His miracles — are the very basis of the Gospel (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Hebrews 2:3-4). Reject them and you nullify the heart of the Christian message.
The fundamentals of the faith are so closely identified with Christ that the apostle John used the expression “the teaching of Christ” as a kind of shorthand for the set of doctrines he regarded as fundamental. To him, these doctrines represented the difference between true Christianity and false religion.
That is why he wrote, “Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son” (2 John 9). Far from encouraging union with those who denied the fundamental truths of the faith, John forbade any form of spiritual fellowship with or encouragement of such false religion (vv. 10-11).
So What?
It has not been my purpose here to attempt to give an exhaustive list of fundamental doctrines. Such a task is beyond the scope of this article. Furthermore, the attempt to precisely identify and number such a list of doctrines would be an extremely difficult thing to do. However, a reasonable list of fundamentals would necessarily begin with these doctrines explicitly identified in Scripture as non-negotiable: the absolute authority of Scripture over tradition (sola Scriptura), justification by faith alone (sola fide), the deity of Christ, and the Trinity.
But what are we to do with this understanding? First of all, we should resist any temptation to wield these doctrines like a judge’s gavel that consigns multitudes to eternal doom. We must not set ourselves up as judges of other people’s eternal fate.
On the other hand, we must recognize that those who have turned away from sound doctrine in matters essential to salvation are condemning themselves. “He who does not believe has been judged already” (John 3:18). Our passion ought to be to proclaim the fundamentals with clarity and precision, in order to turn people away from the darkness of error. We must confront head-on the blindness and unbelief that will be the reason multitudes will one day hear the Lord say, “I never knew you; depart from Me” (Matthew 7:23). Again, it must be stressed that those who act as if crucial doctrines were of no consequence only heap the false teacher’s guilt on themselves (2 John 11).
We have no right to pronounce a sentence of eternal doom against anyone (John 5:22). But by the same token, we have no business receiving just anyone into the communion and fellowship of the church. We should no more forge spiritual bonds with people whose religion is fundamentally in error than we would seek fellowship with those guilty of heinous sin. To do so is tantamount to the arrogance shown by the Corinthians, who refused to dismiss from their fellowship a man living in the grossest kind of sin (1 Corinthians 5:1-3).
We must also remember that serious error can be extremely subtle. False teachers don’t wear a sign proclaiming who they are. They disguise themselves as apostles of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:13). “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness” (vv. 14-15). In view of the current hunger for ecumenical compromise, nothing is more desperately needed in the church right now than a new movement to reemphasize the fundamental articles of the faith.

Worldliness: The First Sign of Backslide BY Dr Joel Beeke

Quoting Joel Beeke . . .
"When the church begins to backslide, the first, outward and visible sign is usually an increase in worldliness. In the way of life, in talk, and even in dress and fashion, the spirit of the world begins to be found more and more in church circles. That which crept into the church ashamedly in former times, so to speak, begins to walk in freely, often covered and overlooked instead of exposed and admonished. The black and white line of separation between godliness and worldliness, between the world and the church, between those who fear God and those who fear Him not, becomes increasingly more gray.
Instead of walking opposite directions, the world and church begin to have more in common with each other to the church's great detriment. Some of its members begin going to worldly places, partaking of worldly forms of entertainment, and become friends of worldly people. Some thoughtlessly take television, the modern-day sin-box and devil's classroom, into their own homes, quickly addicting themselves to its worldly mentality.
Worldly people, worldly entertainment, worldly fashions, worldly customs, worldly places - is this not what Hosea warned against when the Spirit directed him to write: "Ephraim hath mixed himself among the people"? [Hos 7:8] Is not the sin of increasing worldliness the church's first downward and tragic step in an ever-increasing spiral of backsliding? ''

From:
God's Church Bent to Backsliding - (Encyclopedia Puritanica)

What Doctrines Are Essential? (Part 1) By John MacArthur

How can a Christian determine which doctrines are essential and which are not?
To begin with, the strongest words of condemnation in all the New Testament are aimed at false teachers who corrupt the Gospel. Therefore the Gospel message itself must be acknowledged as a primary point of fundamental doctrine.
But what message will determine the content of our gospel testimony? Let’s turn to Scripture itself and attempt to lay out some biblical principles for determining which articles of faith are truly essential to authentic Christianity.

I. All Fundamental Articles of Faith Must Be Drawn from the Scriptures
First, if a doctrine is truly fundamental, it must have its origin in Scripture, not tradition, papal decrees, or some other source of authority. Paul reminded Timothy that the Scriptures are “able to make thee wise unto salvation” (2 Timothy 3:15, KJV). In other words, if a doctrine is essential for salvation, we can learn it from the Bible. The written Word of God therefore must contain all doctrine that is truly fundamental. It is able to make us “adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:17). If there were necessary doctrines not revealed in Scripture, those promises would ring empty.
The psalmist wrote, “The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul” (Psalm 19:7). That means Scripture is sufficient. Apart from the truths revealed to us in Scripture, there is no essential spiritual truth, no fundamental doctrine, nothing essential to soul-restoration. We do not need to look beyond the written Word of God for any essential doctrines. There is nothing necessary beyond what is recorded in God’s Word.
This, of course, is the Reformation principle of sola Scriptura -- Scripture alone. According to the Bible itself, no supposed spiritual authority outside “the sacred writings” of Scripture can give us wisdom that leads to salvation. No papal decrees, no oral tradition, no latter-day prophecy can contain truth apart from Scripture that is genuinely fundamental.

II. The Fundamentals Are Clear in Scripture
Second, if an article of faith is to be regarded as fundamental, it must be clearly set forth in Scripture. No “secret knowledge” or hidden truth-formula could ever qualify as a fundamental article of faith. No cryptic key is necessary to unlock the teaching of the Bible.
The truth of God is not aimed at learned intellectuals; it is simple enough for a child. “Thou didst hide these things from the wise and intelligent and didst reveal them to babes” (Matthew 11:25, KJV). The Word of God is not a puzzle. It does not speak in riddles. It is not cryptic or mysterious. It is plain and obvious to those who have spiritual ears to hear. “The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple” (Psalm 19:7).
The point is not that every fundamental article of faith must be supported with an explicit proof text. The doctrine of the Trinity, for example, is certainly essential to true Christianity-and it is very clear in Scripture-but you will find no comprehensive statement of the Trinity from any single passage of Scripture.

This does not mean that a doctrine must be non-controversial in order to be considered a fundamental article.

Some would argue that the only test of whether something is essential to true Christianity is whether it is affirmed by all the major Christian traditions. By that rule, hardly anything of any substance would remain to distinguish the Christian Gospel from the “salvation” offered by pagan morality or Islamic theology.

“There is much truth in the remark of Clement of Alexandria; ‘No Scripture, I apprehend, is so favourably treated, as to be contradicted by no one.’” (Herman Witsius, Sacred Dissertations on the Apostles’ Creed [Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed, 1993 reprint], 1:21)

What Doctrines Are Essential? (Part 2) By John MacArthur

III. Everything Essential to Saving Faith Is Essential

Third, a doctrine must be regarded as fundamental if eternal life depends on it. Scripture is full of statements that identify the terms of salvation and the marks of genuine faith.
“Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). That verse makes faith itself essential to a right relationship with God. It also expressly identifies both the existence and the veracity of God as fundamental articles of the Christian faith.
Elsewhere we are told that eternal life is obtained through the knowledge of the true God and Jesus Christ (John 17:3; 14:6; Acts 4:12). Since Jesus Himself is the true God incarnate (1 John 5:20; John 8:58; 10:30), the fact of His deity (and by implication the whole doctrine of the Trinity) is a fundamental article of faith (see 1 John 2:23). Our Lord Himself confirmed this when He said all must honor Him as they honor the Father (John 5:23).
The truths of Jesus’ divine Sonship and Messiahship are also fundamental articles of faith (John 20:31).
Of course, the bodily resurrection of Christ is a fundamental doctrine, because 1 Corinthians 15:14 tells us, “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.”
Romans 10:9 confirms that the resurrection is a fundamental doctrine, and adds another: the lordship of Christ. “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.”
And according to Romans 4:4-5, justification by faith is a fundamental doctrine as well: “Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness.” In other words, those who seek acceptance before God on the ground of their own righteousness will find they fall short (Romans 3:27-28; Galatians 2:16-3:29). Only those who trust God to impute Christ’s perfect righteousness to them are accounted truly righteous. This is precisely the difference between Roman Catholic doctrine and the Gospel set forth in Scripture. It is at the heart of all doctrine that is truly fundamental.
In fact, an error in understanding justification is the very thing that was responsible for the apostasy of the Jewish nation: “For not knowing about God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:3). Is that not the precise failure of Roman Catholicism? But “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (v. 4).

IV. Every Doctrine We Are Forbidden to Deny Is Fundamental
Certain teachings of Scripture carry threats of damnation to those who deny them. Other ideas are expressly stated to be affirmed only by unbelievers. Such doctrines, obviously, involve fundamental articles of genuine Christianity.
The apostle John began his first epistle with a series of statements that establish key points of the doctrine of sin (hamartiology) as fundamental articles of faith. “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1:6). That condemns wanton antinomianism (the idea that Christians are under no law whatsoever) and makes some degree of doctrinal and moral enlightenment essential to true Christianity. A second statement rules out the humanistic notion that people are basically good: “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (v. 8 ). And a third suggests that no true Christian would deny his or her own sinfulness: “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (v. 10).
First Corinthians 16:22 makes love for Christ a fundamental issue: “If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be accursed.” And a similar verse, 1 Corinthians 12:3, says that no one speaking by the Spirit of God can call Jesus accursed.

The truth of Jesus’ incarnation is also clearly designated a fundamental doctrine: “Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist” (1 John 4:2-3). “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist” (2 John 7). Those verses by implication also condemn those who deny the Virgin Birth of our Lord, for if He was not virgin-born, He would be merely human, not eternal God come in the flesh.
And since those who twist and distort the Word of God are threatened with destruction (2 Peter 3:16), it is evident that both a lofty view of Scripture and a sound method of Bible interpretation (hermeneutics) are fundamental tenets of true Christianity.

Considering the Qur’an By Nathan Busenitz

As the central religious text of the Islamic faith, the Qur’an is believed by Muslims to be “the last book of guidance from Allah, sent down to Muhammad (pbuh) through the angel Gabriel (Jibra’il). Every word of the Qur’an is the word of Allah.”[1]

But did the Qur’an truly come from God?
The Qur’an teaches that previous revelation also came from God, including the writings of Moses (2:87; 3:3), David (4:163), and the gospel of Jesus (5:46–48). Elsewhere the Qur’an affirms these previous scriptures (2:91; 3:14, 84; 4:47), asserting that God has protected his revelation in them (5:48; 18:28). It also teaches that “Muhammad is to consult the scriptures already revealed if he is in doubt about what is revealed to him” (10:94–95).[2] Thus, the Qur’an claims to be in perfect harmony with the revelation God gave earlier through Moses, David, and Jesus (2:136).
When confronted with the fact that the Qur’an is at odds with the Old and New Testaments, Muslims contend that it is the Bible that has been corrupted.[3] Hence, it is argued, the Jewish and Christian scriptures have been tainted, not the Qur’an. But there are significant problems with this claim.
For starters, the Qur’an implies that the Old Testament was trustworthy at the time of Mary (66:12), John the Baptist (19:12), Jesus (3:48–50; 5:113; 61:6), and even at the time of its own composition, since it commands Jews and Christians to follow what had been revealed to them in their Scriptures (5:47, 68). The Qur’an also claims that the gospel confirms the truth of the Torah (5:49), and calls Jews and Christians “People of the Scripture” (2:44, 113, 121; 3:78, 79; 5:43; 6:92; 7:157; 10:95).
The Qur’an testifies that its main purpose is to provide a revelation for Arabic speaking people, who could not understand (or did not have access to) the Scriptures of the Jews and Christians (Surah 46:11–12; 41:2–3; 20:112; 39:29; 12:2). There is no suggestion that this new revelation (the Qur’an) was needed to replace any corrupted Scripture. In fact, the Qur’an claimed to be a verification of the earlier revelations such as in the Torah and the Gospel, that went before it (Surah 10:37; 12:111).[4]
The Qur’an thus implies that the Old and New Testaments had not yet been “corrupted” when the Qur’an was completed (in the late sixth or early seventh century).
Moreover, the Qur’an claims “to be the guardian of previous Scriptures, therefore any Muslim who claims that there has been a corruption of the text of the Torah [of Moses] or the Injil [Gospel] also, inevitably, charges the Qur’an with failure in its role in ‘guarding’ them (Surah 5:48).”[5] The Qur’an therefore bears witness to the veracity of the Old and New Testaments, at least as they existed in the sixth century A.D.
The Qur’an says that no one can change the Word of God. If the Jews did corrupt the Word of God then it would mean that the Qur’anic statement is unreliable, a concept that would be blasphemy to Muslims. The only possible conclusion in the light of the Qur’an is therefore that the copies of the pre-Islamic Scriptures (known as the Torah and the Injil) were available in the days of Muhammad as they are available today i.e. that they are valid. Since Christians have ample documentary evidence from before Muhammad’s time, they can confidently assert that their Scriptures are trustworthy.[6]
This, then presents a major problem for those who hold to the inerrant inspiration of the Qur’an. By it’s own admission, the Qur’an must be consistent with previous revelation from God. But it does not take long to see that the Bible and the Qur’an are not compatible. “It should come as no surprise to well-informed Muslims who know that, in the final analysis, the claims of Christianity and Islam are incompatible. This incompatibility is behind the Islamic assumption that, in one way or another, the Bible has been corrupted.”[7] When it is demonstrated that the Bible has not been corrupted, both from textual evidence and from the claims of the Qur’an itself, it is the Qur’an—not the Bible—that is discredited.
In addition to being incompatible with previous revelation from God, the Qur’an contains its own internal contradictions, such as urging religious tolerance in one place (2:256) and then commanding Muslims to fight and kill those who do not believe (9:29; 9:5). In another place (7:54 and 32:4), the Qur’an claims that the earth was made in six days. But in 41:9–12, it teaches that eight days were needed to create the world.[8]
The Qur’an also purports certain scientific inaccuracies, claiming that human beings are formed from a clot of blood (23:14), that the sun rests in a muddy spring in the west (18:86), that mountains were created to hold down the earth and prevent earthquakes (31:10-11; cf. 16:15; 21:31; 78:6-7; 88:17, 19), that there are literally seven heavens (2:29; 17:44; 41:12; 23:17, 86; 67:3; 71:15-16), and that meteors are a form of divine retribution being hurled at devils who might try to spy on the heavenly council (37:6-10; 72:8-9; cf.15:16-18; 67:5; 86:2-3).[9]
The Qur’an contains historical errors as well. As one non-Christian author explains,
At sura 40.38; the Koran mistakenly identifies Haman, who in reality was the minister of the Persian King Ahasuerus (mentioned in the book of Esther), as the minister of the Pharoah [sic] at the time of Moses. We have already noted the confusion of Mary, the mother of Jesus, with the Mary who was the sister of Moses and Aaron. At sura 2.249, 250 there is obviously a confusion between the story of Saul as told therein, and the account of Gideon in Judg. 7.5. The account of Alexander the Great in the Koran (18.82) is hopelessly confused historically; we are certain it was based on the Romance of Alexander. At any rate, the Macedonian was not a Muslim and did not live to an old age, nor was he a contemporary of Abraham, as Muslims contend.[10]

Examples such as these are indications that the Qur’an is not the word of God, in spite of what it claims to be.

If space permitted, we could also consider other religious texts, such as the Hindu Veda or the Book of Mormon. In each case, we would again find that the supposed inspired text falls far short of the Bible. Consider, as just one example, the test of predictive prophecy: “Other books claim divine inspiration, such as the Koran, the Book of Mormon, and parts of the [Hindu] Veda. But none of those books contains predictive prophecy. As a result, fulfilled prophecy is a strong indication of the unique divine authority of the Bible.”[11]
Perhaps the greatest difference between the Bible and all other religious books is that the Bible teaches a message of salvation by grace, whereas every other religious system teaches salvation by human works (Micah 7:18; Eph. 2:4–10; Titus 3:3–7). “All other religions we know of teach salvation by meritorious works. Christianity is the only religion that teaches salvation solely by grace through faith alone.”[12] This again is evidence of the uniqueness of the true God and His true Word, the Bible.

“We're Christians just like you!”

By Bill McKeever
When speaking to our Mormon friends about religious issues, it is not uncommon to hear them tell us, “We’re Christians just like you.” There could be many reasons for a response like this. Perhaps the Mormon with whom you are speaking does not really understand what Christians have believed over the centuries, or it could be that they are not really familiar with the positions of their own church. It could be that because both groups share a desire to live moral lives that this qualifies them as “Christian.” However, this conclusion is refuted by the fact that many religions emphasize wholesome living as a part of their beliefs. Christianity, as a religious faith, is known by its teachings (doctrine) and not necessarily by the behavior of its adherents (though we certainly hope that a Christian’s faith is reflected in their practice). One thing we have found in most cases is it is very rare for the average Latter-day Saint to fully explain the unique teachings of Mormonism. In the LDS Church it is taught that milk must be given before meat. Since many Mormons know that some of their unique teachings will be questioned by their evangelical acquaintances, they often give an explanation of the LDS faith that is less than precise. It is difficult to comprehend that most Mormons really believe they are Christians “just like us” since the foundation of their church is based on the presupposition that all professing Christian churches outside of the LDS Church are in a state of apostasy. Do Mormons who make this claim really think they too are “apostates”? Putting that aside, you need to ask yourself some important questions before automatically accepting the notion that the differences separating Christians from Mormons are insignificant. For instance, if your Mormon friend is really a “Christian just like you,” does that mean you believe:


God was not always God?
Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints taught,
“We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see. These are incomprehensible ideas to some, but they are simple. It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God, and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another, and that he was once a man like us” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.345; also cited in Gospel Principles, p.305).
In contrast to this, Psalm 90:2 states, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you have formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.”
God is a glorified, perfected human being with a body of flesh and bones?
According to Joseph Smith,
"God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret, if the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by his power, was to make himself visible,—I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form—like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received instruction from, and walked, talked and conversed with him, as one man talks and communes with another" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 345. Also cited in Achieving a Celestial Marriage, p.129). The Doctrines of Covenants, considered to be scripture by Latter-day Saints, teaches, “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's” (130:22).
Jesus taught that God the Father was not a man at all. In fact, John 4:24 records Jesus saying, “God is spirit, and they that worship Him, must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”

God is only one among many Gods?
Joseph Smith said, “I wish to declare I have always and in all congregations when I have preached on the subject of the Deity, it has been the plurality of Gods. It has been preached by the elders for fifteen years” (Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.35).
Brigham Young, the second president of the LDS Church, once stated,
“How many Gods there are, I do not know. But there never was a time when there were not Gods and worlds, and when men were not passing through the same ordeals that we are now passing through. That course has been from all eternity, and it is and will be to all eternity. You cannot comprehend this; but when you can, it will be to you a matter of great consolation” (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 7:334, October 8, 1859).
However, Isaiah 44:6,8 tells us that the God of the Bible knows of no other Gods. “I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God…Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any.”

God is married?
Gordon B. Hinckley, Mormonism’s 15th President, once noted in a conference message, “Logic and reason would certainly suggest that if we have a Father in Heaven, we have a Mother in Heaven. That doctrine rests well with me” (“Daughters of God,” Ensign (Conference Edition), November 1991, p.100. This is also cited in The Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, p.257). Mormon Apostle Bruce R. McConkie wrote,
“Implicit in the Christian verity that all men are the spirit children of an Eternal Father is the usually unspoken truth that they are also the offspring of an Eternal Mother. An exalted and glorified Man of Holiness (Moses 6:57) could not be a Father unless a Woman of like glory, perfection, and holiness was associated with him as a Mother. The begetting of children makes a man a father and a woman a mother whether we are dealing with man in his mortal or immortal state” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 516).
Just as there is nothing in Mormonism’s unique scripture that mentions God being married to a “heavenly mother,” there is nothing to imply such a teaching in the Bible either.

Jesus is the spirit-brother of Lucifer?
12th Mormon President Spencer W. Kimball wrote,
“Long before you were born a program was developed by your creators ... The principal personalities in this great drama were a Father Elohim, perfect in wisdom, judgment, and person, and two sons, Lucifer and Jehovah.” (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, pp. 32-33).
Since The New Testament claims that it was through Jesus all things were created (John 1:3; Colossian 1:16, 17), it is difficult to assume such a familial relationship. Lucifer is described as an angel and angels, according to Psalm 148:1-5, are created beings, not pro-created beings in a sexual sense.

Jesus is the literal “Son of God” who was begotten naturally by an immortal Father?
In a pamphlet published by the LDS Church First Presidency, it says:
“Jesus Christ is the Son of Elohim both as spiritual and bodily offspring; that is to say, Elohim is literally the Father of the spirit of Jesus Christ and also of the body in which Jesus Christ performed His mission in the flesh, and which body died on the cross and was afterward taken up by the process of resurrection, and is now the immortalized tabernacle of the eternal spirit of our Lord and Savior” ("The Father and The Son; A Doctrinal Exposition by The First Presidency and The Twelve," June 30, 1916. Reprinted in Articles of Faith, p. 421).
Mormon Apostle Bruce McConkie taught that God stepped down from His throne to “join with one who is finite and mortal in bringing forth, ‘after the manner of the flesh,’ the Mortal Messiah” (Bruce R. McConkie, The Mortal Messiah: From Bethlehem to Calvary, 1:315). The Bible describes the incarnation of Christ as a miracle known as the Virgin Birth. Mary, the mother of Jesus, became pregnant without the aid of man, mortal or otherwise (Luke 2:35).

Christians are saved by grace coupled with works?
The Book of Mormon teaches in 2 Nephi 25:23, “For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” President Spencer W. Kimball said,
“One of the most fallacious doctrines originated by Satan and propounded by man is that man is saved alone by the grace of God; that belief in Jesus Christ alone is all that is needed for salvation” (12th Prophet Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness, p.206; also cited in The Book of Mormon Student Manual, religion 121 and 122, 1996, p.36).
Though Christians are saved “unto good works” (Ephesians 2:10), the good works of a Christians do not justify (or make right) the believer before God. The apostle Paul made this very clear when he wrote, “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Grace is given by God only after a person has denied themselves of all ungodliness?
Writing for the Mormon magazine Ensign, BYU professor Clyde J. Williams said,
“The perfect relationship between the atoning grace of Christ and the obedient efforts of mankind is powerfully stated by Nephi: ‘We know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do’ (2 Nephi 25:23). Furthermore, we are invited to ‘come unto Christ, and be perfected in him.’ When we deny ourselves ‘of all ungodliness,’ then and only ‘then is his grace sufficient’ for us (Moroni 10:32)” (“Plain and Precious Truths Restored,” Ensign, October 2006, p.53).
Apostle Bruce McConkie wrote, “And unless men have the agency to choose to do good and work righteousness—and, in fact, do so—they cannot be saved. There is no other way” (The Mortal Messiah 1:406). However, in his pastoral epistle to Titus, the apostle Paul wrote that a believer’s salvation was “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” He went on to write that this great kindness was “shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:5-7).
Humans can become Gods?
According to the Encyclopedia of Mormonism,
“Logically and naturally, the ultimate desire of a loving Supreme Being is to help his children enjoy all that he enjoys. For Latter-day Saints, the term ‘godhood’ denotes the attainment of such a state—one of having all divine attributes and doing as God does and being as God is” (2:553).
Brigham Young declared,
“The Lord created you and me for the purpose of becoming Gods like Himself; when we have been proved in our present capacity, and been faithful with all things He puts into our possession. We are created, we are born for the express purpose of growing up from the low estate of manhood, to become Gods like unto our Father in heaven. That is the truth about it, just as it is” (Brigham Young, August 8, 1852, Journal of Discourses 3:93).
Historically, such a notion has been considered blasphemous by Christians. Never have Christians taught that mankind has the capacity to become ontologically like God. As God Himself said through the prophet Isaiah, “Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me” (Isaiah 43:10).

Mankind must believe Joseph Smith was a prophet of God in order to get into heaven?
“There is no greater prophet in any dispensation than Joseph Smith… Joseph Smith was a prophet, and all the calumny and aspirations to the contrary cannot controvert that fact. Anyone who has concern for the welfare of his eternal soul should give attention to this message. Every man who has lived since the days of Joseph Smith is subject to accepting him as a prophet of God in order to enter into our Heavenly father’s presence” (A. Theodore Tuttle, “Joseph Smith re-established fullness of true gospel, Church,” Church News, March 17, 2001, p.14).
This concurs with what Brigham Young said in 1859:
“From the day that the Priesthood was taken from the earth to the winding-up scene of all things, every man and woman must have the certificate of Joseph Smith, junior, as a passport to their entrance into the mansion where God and Christ are -- I with you and you with me. I cannot go there without his consent” (Brigham Young, October 9, 1859, Journal of Discourses 7:289).

The Bible declares that Jesus is the Christian’s living prophet and it is Jesus whom Christians must listen to and obey (Deuteronomy 18:15; John 5:46; 6:44; 7:40; Acts 3:22, 23; 7:37; Hebrews 1:1-2). Judgment has been given to Jesus alone by authority of the Father. “For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment unto the Son” (John 5:22).

Christianity ceased to exist after the death of the Twelve Apostles?

According to the LDS Church manual Gospel Principles,
“One by one, the Apostles were killed. Because of the persecution, surviving Apostles could not meet to choose and ordain men to replace those who were dead. Eventually, local priesthood leaders were the only ones who had authority to direct the scattered branches of the Church. The perfect organization of the Church no longer existed, and confusion resulted. More and more error crept into Church doctrine, and soon the destruction was complete. The period of time when the true Church no longer existed on earth is called the Great Apostasy” (Gospel Principles, p.105, emphasis theirs).
But Jesus promised to be with His Church unto the “end of the world (or age)” (Matthew 28:20).
The Apostle John is still alive?
Doctrine and Covenants 7:1-3 states,
“AND the Lord said unto me: John, my beloved, what desirest thou? For if you shall ask what you will, it shall be granted unto you. And I said unto him: Lord, give unto me power over death, that I may live and bring souls unto thee. And the Lord said unto me: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, because thou desirest this thou shalt tarry until I come in my glory, and shalt prophesy before nations, kindreds, tongues and people”
BYU Professor Robert Millet noted that not only was the Apostle John still alive, but that “Three “Nephites” mentioned in the Book of Mormon were also living today in a translated state.
“We know from the Book of Mormon (see 3 Nephi 28:6) and from modern revelation (see D&C 7) that John was translated-changed to a terrestrial state so as to no longer be subject to the effects of the Fall, including physical suffering, bodily decay, and death. Like the three Nephites, he is still ministering among the peoples of the earth and will do so until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, at which time he and they will be changed from mortality to immortality (see 3 Nephi 28:8, 27-30)” (Selected Writings of Robert L. Millet: Gospel Scholars Series, p.85).
Jesus never made such a promise. Clearly such a conclusion is based on a misunderstanding that the Gospel of John corrects in John 21:22, 23.

American Indians are “Jewish”?
Joseph Smith said
“that America in ancient times has been inhabited by two distinct races of people. The first were called Jaredites and came directly from the tower of Babel. The second race came directly from the city of Jerusalem, about six hundred years before Christ. They were principally Israelites, of the descendants of Joseph. The Jaredites were destroyed about the time that the Israelites came from Jerusalem, who succeeded them in the inheritance of the country. The principal nation of the second race fell in battle towards the close of the fourth century. The remnant are the Indians that now inhabit this country” (Joseph Smith, Times and Seasons 3:707).
Harold B. Lee, Mormonism’s 11th president, stated,
“The Indians on the American continent are descendants of the tribes of Ephraim, Judah, and Manasseh, we are told by the Book of Mormon. (Omni 15-19; I Nephi 5:14-16.) Their dark skin was a curse put upon them because of their transgression, which in a day to come in their descendants will be lifted and they will become white and delightsome as they accept the Gospel and turn to the Lord” (Decisions for Successful Living, pp.166-167.)
Genetic evidence denies such a connection. Modern data concludes that the American Indians are not of Hebrew ancestry but are instead of Asian descent.

The Garden of Eden was located in Missouri?
Mormon Apostle John A. Widtsoe wrote,
“Latter-day Saints know, through modern revelation, that the Garden of Eden was on the North American continent and that Adam and Eve began their conquest of the earth in the upper part of what is now the state of Missouri. It seems very probable that the children of our first earthly parents moved down along the fertile, pleasant lands of the Mississippi valley. The great floods that have often occurred there make the description in Genesis seem very reasonable indeed. And if the historian saw the flood there, it is not unlikely that the waters covered the highest points or peaks, for there the mountains are but hills” (Evidences and Reconciliations, p.127).
Milton R. Hunter, a Mormon Seventy, stated, “From the foregoing evidence, it is certain that the Garden of Eden was located in America, in what today is known as the state of Missouri and probably the adjacent region” (Pearl of Great Price Commentary, p.109).

The above represents just a small amount of the many contrasting beliefs between Mormonism and biblical Christianity.

Our prayer is that you will take the time to carefully study the truth-claims of the Mormon Church and compare them to what the Bible already declares. In doing so you will be better prepared to discern what Mormonism is all about.

Update on Warren's Ties to Robert Schuller

There has been an update to the post on Robert Schuller's ties to Rick Warren. I point it out to you because I think it is very important for everyone to read.

Biblically Correct Evangelism Starts With . . .

Quoting Martyn Lloyd-Jones . . .
"All you do in evangelism, some say, is to call people to 'come to Christ', and you offer forgiveness. You call upon them to 'decide for Christ'. They generally go on to say that if you afterwards go to the other meetings you will learn a deeper doctrine, a profound truth; but in an evangelistic meeting there is only a simple message - it is "Come to Jesus; come to Christ, decide for Him. If you want forgiveness, here it is". Now as I understand [Romans 6:17], such teaching is not only dangerous, but utterly un-scriptural. That is why this matter is of such tremendous importance. That is not the message the Roman Christians had believed, otherwise Paul could not have drawn these great deductions from it. What then is it? 'The form of doctrine delivered them' was the full doctrine that Paul had been elaborating on throughout this Epistle to the Romans - nothing less. The message of evangelism is a message that starts with . . .
- - - . . . man in sin under the wrath of a holy God.
Paul starts with that way back in chapter 1, in verses 16, 17, and 18. "I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God from faith to faith; as it is written, the just shall live by faith. For (because) the wrath of God is (already) revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold (down) the truth in unrighteousness." That is an essential part of the message.
You can not skate lightly over and around sin in evangelism, and say to people "do not bother about repentance now. Come to Christ first, you can repent afterwards." No! The doctrine of sin is a vital part of this 'form of doctrine' [mentioned in Romans 6:17] that produces the amazing result. We all have to see ourselves under condemnation, bound for hell, hopeless and helpless in sin and under the wrath of god. We have to see the foul, terrible nature of such a condition, its slavery to sin and Satan, and the terrible end to which it inevitably leads. That is part of the message.
Then comes the utter hopeless of all human striving and effort to achieve salvation. It took Paul most of chapters 1, 2, and 3 of Romans to unfold this aspect of the doctrine. The Gentiles with their philosophy cannot deliver themselves, neither can the Jew, the man who boasted that because he had the Law a happy future was assured to him. 'No', says Paul, "you are no better than the Gentile. Knowledge of the law does not save; you have to keep the Law." So he concludes "that there is no difference; all have sinned and come short of the glory of God". The whole human race has failed. You cannot save yourself. It matters not at all how good and moral and excellent and religious you may be. This counts for nothing. Whether you are circumcised or not does not matter; and all mortality is useless in and of itself. Man by his own effort cannot save himself. Paul elaborates the teaching to remind them of it, and to confirm them in it.
This is all a part of evangelism. Evangelism does not consist in telling stories and playing on people's emotions, and then pressing them to a decision at the end without any true knowledge on their part of what they are doing. No, but it is the outlining of this 'form of doctrine', this message, this truth. Then you go on to tell them that from this complete hopelessness and helplessness and despair God has provided a way of escape: "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood". That is the message, that is the "form of doctrine that has been delivered". That is the immediate agency that produces this great change.
From: ''
Commentary to Romans 6

An almost Christian By George Whitefield

An almost Christian, if we consider him in respect to his duty to God, is one that halts between two opinions; that wavers between Christ and the world; that would reconcile God and Mammon, light and darkness, Christ and Belial. It is true, he has an inclination to religion, but then he is very cautious how he goes too far in it: his false heart is always crying out, Spare thyself, do thyself no harm. He prays indeed, that "God's will may be done on earth, as it is in heaven." But notwithstanding, he is very partial in his obedience, and fondly hopes that God will not be extreme to mark every thing that he willfully does amiss; though an inspired apostle has told him, that "he who offends in one point is guilty of all." But chiefly, he is one that depends much on outward ordinances, and on that account looks upon himself as righteous, and despises others; though at the same time he is as great a stranger to the divine life as any other person whatsoever. In short, he is fond of the form, but never experiences the power of godliness in his heart. He goes on year after year, attending on the means of grace, but then, like Pharaoh's lean kine [cow?], he is never the better, but rather the worse for them

.If you consider him in respect to his neighbor,he is one that is strictly just to all; but then this does not proceed from any love to God or regard to man, but only through a principle of self-love: because he knows dishonesty will spoil his reputation, and consequently hinder his thriving in the world.He is one that depends much upon being negatively good, and contents himself with the consciousness of having done no one any harm; though he reads in the gospel, that "the unprofitable servant was cast into outer darkness," and the barren fig-tree was cursed and dried up from the roots, not for bearing bad, but no fruit

.He is no enemy to charitable contributions in public,if not too frequently recommended: but then he is unacquainted with the kind offices of visiting the sick and imprisoned, clothing the naked, and relieving the hungry in a private manner. He thinks that these things belong only to the clergy, though his own false heart tells him, that nothing but pride keeps him from exercising these acts of humility; and that Jesus Christ, in the 25th chapter of St. Matthew, condemns persons to everlasting punishment, not merely for being fornicators, drunkards, or extortioners, but for neglecting these charitable offices,

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, he shall set the sheep on his right-hand, and the goats on his left. And then shall he say unto them on his left hand, depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also say, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or a-thirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have not done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it not unto me: and these shall go away into everlasting punishment unto me: and these shall go away into everlasting punishment."

I thought proper to give you this whole passage of scripture at large, because our Savior lays such a particular stress upon it; and yet it is so little regarded, that were we to judge by the practice of Christians, one should be tempted to think there were no such verses in the Bible.

Thomas Watson, 1662

“Nothing can come amiss to him that hath assurance. God is his. Hath he lost a friend?-His Father lives. Hath he lost an only child?-God hath given His only Son. Hath he scarcity of bread?-God hath given him the finest of the wheat, the bread of life. Are his comforts gone?-He hath a Comforter. Doth he meet with storms on the sea?-He knows where to put in for harbour. God is his portion, and heaven is his haven.”

Holiness by Grace Review by Nathan Williams

The sheer volume of books dealing with the Christian life and sanctification in our world today can be overwhelming at times. If you were to check the Christian Living section on Christianbook.com you would find over 10,000 books listed. I’m sure some of these books would prove helpful, but the vast majority would fail to provide any lasting instruction for believers.
Sometimes its hard to know which book will give me and those in my church the truth about how to live the Christian life. Holiness by Grace by Bryan Chapell is a book you can put into the hands of church members and trust to give the biblical perspective on spiritual growth.
We may not think of holiness and grace as mutually exclusive, but we don’t often mention them in the same sentence. Most people think of holiness as something gained by rigorous effort and as a list of do’s and don’ts that can’t be broken. On the other side of the coin, many people think of grace as freedom from rules and regulations.
Even Paul felt the tension that arises when people are told God accepts them and forgives sin no matter what they’ve done. The fear is that men will count on God’s grace to the point that they sin because they know His grace will cover it. It’s quite difficult to walk the balance and preach God’s unending grace while at the same time encouraging the passionate pursuit of holiness. Chapell does more than adequately explain the balance of holiness and grace, he explains that holiness will never take place without a proper understanding of grace.
Chapell reveals the purpose of this book; “In technical terms, my intention is to explain the role of grace in sanctification. This progressive process by which God makes us more and more like Jesus cannot function if we think that our works earn God’s affection, or if we think that our works do not matter. Grace corrects both errors and in doing so grants us the unqualified joy that is our strength for obedience (Neh. 8:10).” (p. 13)
Holiness by Grace consists of three parts. First, Chapell explains the principles of grace. The two important principles which must be grasped before moving on to the rest of the discussion of grace are the power of joy to motivate us to obedience and the lifelong union believers have with Christ. Our obedience must overflow from our joy and not stem from our guilt. We also must understand the nature of our union with Christ. This union does not fluctuate based on whether we sin or not. Our union with Christ will remain despite our sin.
In the second part of the book Chapell goes on to explain the practices of faith that flow from a proper understanding of grace. This section of the book deals much with sin and covers topics such as repentance, temptation, freedom from the law and our personal war with sin.
Finally, the last section of Holiness by Grace deals with the proper motivation for obedience, love. Chapell explains the appropriate place of discipline from the Lord in the life of the believer, the power of mercy as a motivation for obedience and how the grace of God brings significance to our otherwise insignificant works.
I believe Holiness by Grace provides timely instruction for the church today. I know it was particularly needed in my own life. Many in the church misunderstand grace. We often do not preach grace in a way that makes it out to be completely free. We may feel that the offer of free grace will encourage a lifestyle of worldliness and license to sin.
Chapell’s book does a thorough job of debunking this idea and explaining the real effect of a proper understanding of grace, holiness. When we truly embrace the gospel and know that our works do not earn one ounce of favor with God, then we are profoundly motivated to obedience, not to a life of licentiousness. Here are some superb quotes from Holiness by Grace to encourage you in your deepening grasp of God’s grace.
“Grace is God’s willingness to look at us from the perspective that sees his holy Son in our place” (p. 8 ).
“Resting on God’s grace does not relieve us of our holy obligations; rather it should enable us to fulfill them” (p. 12).
“Thus to find release from the bondage and burden of sin, and to access the joy that is the strength of the Christian life, we must believe that we can rely entirely on our union with Christ to make us right with God” (p. 40).
“Spiritual pride dies when we realize that all of our comparisons with others based on relative levels of apparent goodness count for nothing in terms of gaining us standing with God” (p. 43).
“We progress in sanctification as we humbly and prayerfully depend upon the Holy spirit to mature our wills and transform our affections so that we stay in the course that he has designed” (p. 61).
“There is nothing more effective than guilt to get people to obey God’s standards, and nothing less efficacious in sanctifying them to God” (p. 188).
“The anger God expresses over his children’s wrongdoing is more concern for the damage we do to ourselves than for our crossing him” (p. 195).

TheLord’sSupper

It is my solemn duty to warn the uninstructed, the profane, the scandalous, and those who secretly
and impenitently live in any sin, not to approach the holy table lest they partake unworthily, not
discerning the Lord's body, and so eat and drink condemnation to themselves. Nevertheless, this
warning is not designed to keep the humble and contrite from the table of the Lord, as if the supper
were for those who might be free from sin. On the contrary, we who are invited to the supper, coming
as guilty and polluted sinners and without hope of eternal life apart from the grace of God in
Christ, confess our dependence for pardon and cleansing upon the perfect sacrifice of Christ, base
our hope of eternal life upon His perfect obedience and righteousness, and humbly resolve to deny
ourselves, crucify our old natures, and follow Christ as becomes those who bear His name. Let us
therefore, in accordance with the admonition of the apostle Paul, examine our minds and hearts to
determine whether such discernment is ours, to the end that we may partake to the glory of God and
to our growth in the grace of Christ.
Chapter IV, The Directory for the Public Worship of God (1647), “The Celebration of the Sacraments”

The Heidelberg Catechism, This Lord's Day week 5

Q12: Since, then, by the righteous judgment of God, we deserve temporal and eternal punishment, how may we escape this punishment and be again received into favor?

A12: God wills that His justice be satisfied;[1] therefore, we must make full satisfaction to that justice, either by ourselves or by another.[2]
1. Exod. 20:5; 23:72. Rom. 8:3-4

Q13: Can we ourselves make this satisfaction?

A13: Certainly not; on the contrary, we daily increase our guilt.[1]
1. Job 9:2-3; 15:15-16; Matt. 6:12; 16:26

Q14: Can any mere creature make satisfaction for us?

A14: None; for first, God will not punish any other creature for the sin which man committed;[1] and further, no mere creature can sustain the burden of God's eternal wrath against sin [2] and redeem others from it.
1. Heb. 2:14-182. Psa. 130:3

Q15: What kind of mediator and redeemer, then, must we seek?

A15: One who is a true [1] and righteous man,[2] and yet more powerful than all creatures, that is, one who is also true God.[3]
1. I Cor. 15:21-22, 25-262. Jer. 33:16; Isa. 53:11; II Cor. 5:21; Heb. 7:15-163. Isa. 7:14; Heb. 7:26

Stained-Glass Saints? By John MacArthur

If you’ve ever visited the great cathedrals in Europe, you’d think the apostles were larger-than-life stained-glass saints with shining halos who represented an exalted degree of spirituality. But actually, they were very, very common men.
It’s a shame they have so often been put on pedestals as magnificent marble figures, or portrayed in paintings like some kind of Roman gods. That dehumanizes them. They were just twelve completely ordinary men—human in every way—and we shouldn’t lose touch with who they really were.

So what qualified those men to be apostles? The truth is, it wasn’t any intrinsic ability or outstanding talent of their own. They were Galileans. They were not the elite. Galileans were considered low-class, rural, uneducated, people. They were commoners, nobodies. But those nobodies would become the preeminent leaders of the fledgling church—its very foundation!

Now when it comes to church leadership, there are some rather clear moral and spiritual qualifications that men must meet. The Bible sets the standard extremely high (see 1 Timothy 3:2-7; Titus 1:6-9; Hebrews 13:7).
But you know something? The standard isn’t any lower for the rest of the church. Leaders are to be examples for all others who strive to meet the same standard. There is no such thing as an acceptable “lower” standard for rank-and-file church members. In fact, in Matthew 5:48, Jesus said to all believers, “Be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
That’s a tall order! Frankly, no one meets such a standard. Humanly speaking, no one “qualifies” when the standard is utter perfection. What joy there is in knowing that it is God Himself who must save sinners, sanctify them, and then transform the unqualified into instruments He can use.
The twelve were like the rest of us; they were selected from the unworthy and the unqualified. They were, like Elijah, men “with a nature like ours” (James 5:17). They did not rise to the highest usefulness because they were somehow different from us. Rather, their transformation into vessels of honor was a divine work and their incredible influence is a result of the divine message they preached.

Why God Chooses Us
Do you ever become discouraged and disheartened when your spiritual life and witness suffer because of personal sin or failure? We tend to think we’re worthless nobodies—and left to ourselves, that would be true! But be encouraged—worthless nobodies are just the kind of people God uses. If you think about it, that’s all He has to work with!
But have you ever stopped to consider why that’s true? Listen to this: God chooses the humble, the lowly, the meek, and the weak so that there’s never any question about the source of power when their lives change the world. It’s not the man; it’s the truth of God and the power of God in the man. Next time you’re reading through the gospels or the book of Acts, take a few minutes to consider the work of God in the apostles. They were slow to believe, slow to understand, and had horrendous memories! Sound familiar?

Don’t worry—that is perfectly consistent with the way the Lord always works. 1 Corinthians 1:20-21 says, “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” That is the very reason there were no philosophers, no brilliant writers, no famous debaters, no distinguished teachers, and no men who had ever distinguished themselves as great orators among the twelve Christ chose. They became great spiritual leaders and great preachers under the power of the Holy Spirit, but it was not because of any innate oratorical skill, leadership abilities, or academic qualifications they had. Their influence is owing to one thing and one thing only: the power of the message they preached.
On a human level, the gospel was considered a foolish message and the apostles were deemed unsophisticated preachers. Their teaching was beneath the elite. They were mere fishermen and working-class nobodies. Peons. Rabble. That was the assessment of their contemporaries and that has been the majority opinion of the genuine church of Christ throughout history and to this very day! “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called” (v. 26).

But think about this: “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence” (vv. 27-29).

God’s favorite instruments are nobodies, so that no man can boast before God. In other words, God chooses whom He chooses so He might receive the glory. He chooses weak instruments so no one will attribute the power to the instruments but rather to the God who wields the instruments. Those who pursue their own glory will sadly find God’s strategy unacceptable—and they’ll miss out on true glory and true joy.

With the notable exception of Judas, the apostles were not like that. They certainly struggled with pride and arrogance like every fallen human being. But the driving passion of their lives became the glory of Christ. And it was that passion, subjected to the influence of the Holy Spirit—not any innate skill or human talent—that explains why they left such an indelible impact on the world.

How should Christian values impact business ethics in the office? By Dr RC Sproul

I remember having a discussion a few years ago in the boardroom of one of the Fortune 500 corporations here in the United States. I was speaking to the chairman of the board, the president, and several vice presidents of this corporation on the issue of the relationship between theology, philosophy, and ethics. At the end of the discussion the chairman of the board looked at me and said, “Do I understand you to be saying that ethical issues—that is, policies that we have in our business organization—touch the whole question of ethics, and in turn those ethics touch the question of philosophy, and in turn philosophy touches theology? Are you saying to us that how we run our business ultimately has theological significance?” I said, “Yes, that’s what I’m trying to say.” And it was like the lights came on in this man’s head for the first time in his life. It astonished me that he thought this principle to be so obscure. When we use the term ethics, we’re talking about doing what is right. From a Christian perspective, we believe that the ultimate norm and ultimate standard of rightness is the character of God and his perfect righteousness. So biblical principles of ethics have great relevance for the business world. I’m talking about simple things like God telling us it’s wrong to steal. You don’t have to be a Christian to appreciate honesty and respect for private property in the business community. I once talked to someone who was astonished because they gave $5,000 to an automobile salesman in Orlando, Florida, to have some work done and the guy took off with the $5,000 and never did the work. His wife was really upset, saying, “How can people do that? That’s crooked business.” One doesn’t have to be a Christian to feel violated when a businessman steals one’s money. The Bible tells us to honor contracts, to pay our bills on time. What businessman doesn’t appreciate it when his customers pay him what they owe him? The Bible has much to say about false weights and measures. How do you like it if you are buying “short measure” in perfume or in ketchup? That’s a business consideration. All of these are very practical, concrete principles of ethics that touch the very heart of doing business. Honesty, industry, integrity—we know that the Christian has no corner on these particular virtues. These virtues are significant in every realm of business and, most important, how we treat people in the realm of business. Do we treat them with dignity? That is a top priority of Christian ethics, that we treat our customers, our employees, our personnel with dignity.